AUGUSTA, Ga. – The frustration was understandable. Rory McIlroy had played too dang well to have nearly given away this 89th Masters after the first stanza. But with two double bogeys in his final four holes Thursday evening, McIlroy was on the cusp of irrelevance, not only seven shots back but behind 26 other names. There was still time, just no more margin for error.
And so, McIlroy bolted out of scoring and without breaking stride, skirted the assembled media and rushed straight to the parking lot, making it to his rental home just in time to tuck his 4-year-old daughter, Poppy, into bed.
“I just sort of tried to leave what had happened here,” McIlroy later explained.
The next morning, McIlroy met with his sports psychologist, Dr. Bob Rotella, who encouraged his client to remain patient.
The message, in a nutshell: Don’t push too hard, too early.
McIlroy’s response: An easy birdie on the par-5 second, plus eight pars to make the turn in red numbers.
Then he hit the gas, bursting back into contention.
“I feel like that patience was rewarded,” said McIlroy, whose 6-under 66 erased all but two shots of leader Justin Rose’s advantage on him.
McIlroy’s second-nine charge started when he flagged his approach from 177 yards at the par-4 10th and did the same from 159 yards at the par-4 11th for back-to-back birdies. As he walked to the 12th, he received a standing ovation from the sea of patrons. McIlroy, who capitalized on a huge break when his tee shot kicked out of the bushes on the par 3, was just getting started, too.
After driving it into the pine straw at the par-5 13th, McIlroy calculated his number to cover the creek – 189 yards – and then weighed hitting 4-iron or 5-iron. He went with the former, then watched as his ball drifted right.
“When the ball was in the air, I was like, You idiot, what did you do?” McIlroy said.
Golf Channel Staff
